Content Warning:

-Soul feeding/torture.

-Death.

“No.” I hiss the moment I see where Thendra has led me.

Oblivion was a sweet release after a day of painful healing. No nightmares, no songs, just... peaceful quiet nothingness. I forced myself to remain awake until I was certain Awnya was gone and safe. Then I’d collapsed into what Thendra told me was only five hours of rest. I’d woken up sore and groggy, but… restless. After bringing me breakfast, Thendra took my wrist and silently led me here. Leg better, but still needing that strange popping Amwella lightning to stand.

The remaining five Reavers had gathered as Thendra pulled me along, now standing behind us as I stare into the room with a mix of fear and disgust.

The two watcher kin, Voe and Zitra, sit wrapped in thin robes. All their eyes are closed as they sit in the corner of the barren room, trays of barely touched meals sitting before their still scarred flesh. But… none of that matters…

Because the moment I turned the corner, even without my Amwella sight, I can feel the little wriggling curses slumbering inside them. I almost vomit as I turn to leave, but Thendra catches my wrist again. Purrs a soft warning growl.

Voe’s head tilts up, but she remains otherwise perfectly motionless. Zitra… she just… leans her head back and stares up at the ceiling. The angry blood brand I’d carved into her is still puffy and red and terrible.

The talons of my freshly healed hand twitch. My body is whole, and my Amwella is… better. Not like it was. Still raw and torn. Scars and cracks can still be seen by anyone with the eyes to look.

“Why bring me here?” I hiss, ignoring the blinded watcher as I turn to glare up at Thendra. “The curses are set, you know their word and limits. You don’t need any more placed on them to get anything you want.”

“Your soulfire needs to heal.”

“What?” I just… stare back. Confused, until the implications settle in. I would have stumbled if she wasn’t holding me.

No. No no no. Please NO! First you give me to your Reavers. Now… Now you want me to mingle my soul with–

Thendra kneels before me then. Takes my chin to force me to meet her eyes. I expect to find anger or annoyance there, but… instead it’s… J… joy? A real smile, predatory and calm.

“I…” Stammering, I try to struggle free. “I’m not… I can’t–”

My eyes try to flit back to the Watchers. Bound by the horrible things I infested them with!

“You can.” She purrs, patient and… and encouraging?

Even in the desert Thendra hadn’t been like this. Hard and resolute, she had pushed me to my limits. Only ever really showed enjoyment after I succeeded, and even less as we fucked. Almost… Her words bring old memories of warm words my mother spoke to me as I fumbled and stumbled over new songs she wanted to teach me.

That scares me even more than her anger or hard commands.

“They won’t let me. Won’t–” I try to pull away, Thendra lets me, but a hand does touch my arm to keep me from running.

She lets out a purring laugh, and I can’t stop a flinch at the sound. Still waiting for her to growl and just… demand I do this. I look down, see these two blackened talons. They have to let me, because Thendra can command it. My writhing little Laments won’t give them much of a choice.

I look over to Voe. Remember… remember the look in those horrible eyes as she stood over me. Began to… to consume my Amwella as her Matron’s monster strangled me. How she’d always looked at me, how she’d always hated me.

“I thought you didn’t want me to feed.” I murmur, shaking the thoughts away. “Said… said I was ruining my Amwella. I… I don’t want to heal from this only to have you do that again. I can't survive that a second time.”

I imagine my times with Awnya, how warm and wonderful we made each other feel as our Amwella’s merged and danced. Dreamer’s Tits, how am I supposed to… to even try to… to have sex with that? I can’t even find myself mildly attracted to Voe, much less willing to… to try and pleasure her!

“You will give nothing of yourself up, only consume parts of their soul.”

I jerk to stare at her.

“Rip and tear away what you need. Do not worry about her comfort or safety.”

I squeeze my eyes shut as I try to suppress a shiver at the images. A weird mix of bile and… something else. Something I don’t understand.

“Oh.” I take a steadying breath.

Dreamer’s Tits. I look back over to the Watchers. And can’t help but feel a tingle of warmth roll down my spine at the idea of… of hurting Voe. Of ripping and tearing and feeling her soul break under my–

Thendra thrums, gently pushes me forward. Then I’m standing only a few feet back, looking between the watchers warily. I glance back at Thendra, a worried question on my face.

“Neither of you will open your eyes, move, speak, or draw upon your Amwella.” Thendra purrs, “No magic of any sort.”

They both seem to… to twitch, as the little Laments inside them wriggle and adjust to the new commands. These curses, made with intimate knowledge of those cruel Fae words are so much more flexible than the one I have embedded in my soul. I step forward, consider… I only know how to absorb Amwella from willing partners. How am I even supposed to do this?

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I step forward and kneel next to Voe. Reach out hesitantly, then look back to Thendra and the Reavers behind her for instruction. She doesn’t say anything, doesn't give me a path to understanding.

Can you figure this out? Her jade eyes ask.

I look Voe up and down, then reach out and… touch her upper arm with a few fingers. As my Amwella sense flickers to life fully, her roiling soulfire mass seems to react to my touch. Recoils a little, even as her body remains perfectly still. I picture Thendra’s big Amwella core, and all it’s writhing powerful tendrils, trying to… to emulate it. Try to reach out and…

I open my eyes to glower at Voe. I’m not big enough to… Dreamer’s Tits I need to get closer so I can even reach. So with a huff and careful to touch her as little as possible, I crawl forward to straddle her legs, and try again.

She still doesn’t move, not even a twitch. And It’s… a little better this time, the very tips of my core seem to almost… but no. Still too far.

I glare at Voe for a bit. Really really really not wanting to… to touch this big lady!!! Even if the idea of hurting her sounds… well not nice but… like… it’s not like she doesn’t deserve it! I just don’t want to be near her at all!!!

“Dreamer’s–” I hiss, about to back away. To tell Thendra I can’t do it! To–

But then a strong hand is at my back, and Thendra is pushing me into the watcher. I gasp and freeze. I didn’t even hear her come over and kneel next to me. A little sudden panic at the cold, and slightly… well almost scaly skin I’m being held against overwhelms me for a moment. Chest squished into her and lips almost touching Voe's skin.

But… my Amwella sense is still going, and I can’t help but… but now my core is hovering next to Voe’s. I feel the little tendrils of my soul reach out and press themselves against her’s. It’s… strange. Where other’s souls tendrils are sort of… always waving about. Like hair in the wind. Voe’s are slack and drooped, almost… I feel about, and notice that they are also… like… really strange. Have little weird nubs at the end?

I take a deep breath and let myself relax against her. Voe’s… well souls don’t really have a temperature. But if they did she would be super cold. I feel myself squeeze one of the little tendrils draped beside her core with my own Amwella, trying to understand why it’s so… off. Weird and different from mine or Thendra’s.

Her core… well it doesn’t move, not really but it does seem to shudder. A… a growl? But before it can grow to anything more than a little thing, a writhing parasite curls and nibbles. My curse, my Lament… Dreamer’s Tits! I’d forgotten it was so–

Her soul jerks, and falls back into stillness.

I just… don’t move. A strange sensation seems to curl and weave around my soul as I watch my creation settle back into a sort of patient slumber. I squeeze the little tendril of Voe’s, more in an attempt to comfort my own weird mix of emotions.

Her soul is… well I wouldn’t call it beautiful. In fact I find it to be quite the horrid thing. As my Amwella touches hers… it’s almost like when Awnya would sing the soul-gazing song. I can sense little echoes of Voe’s emotions. Mostly… well fear and anger and… and fury at my touch.

I squeeze and pull on the little tendril harder.

I… I don’t want to be here. Dreamer’s Tits! You were the one who hurt me! Who… gave me up to your Matron. Who… who started to EAT ME!

Harder.

From the first time you saw me you only wanted to hurt me. Whether it was with my past, or trying to get Thendra to give me up to one of your… your Dreamer cursed flesh eating places! Would have loved to rip AND TEAR AND BITE AND–

Then the tendril I’m holding rips, there is a pop and her Amwella shudders and starts to bleed from the wound. I can only stare down at the thing as it floats in the place between our souls. But… I… how did I…? The little pieces begin to shrivel on itself, turning darker and darker until… it turns black, rots, and fades.

Oh.

I turn back to Voe’s soul. Understanding… And so I reach out and grab at another tendril, squeeze, pull and… pop. This time I pull it close. Try to… to mush it into my own soul. And like that, it melts and squishes into me. And…

“Dreamer’s Cunt and Clit!!!” I shudder in pleasure as the little piece of Voe dissolves and is absorbed into my core. It… It’s almost as good as when Awnya and I… Well, no. Not as much as that. But it’s still so… Amazing…

I’m already reaching for another tendril, even as her core shutters and bleeds and tries to pull away. Don’t even pause between bites as I rip and tear, end up consuming three more before pausing. Warm purring vibrations emit from my Amwella as it absorbs the watchers' soulfire, and I start to feel that same warmth gather all through my body.

A sound rumbles from behind me. I open my people eyes and pull back. Voe is twitching. Jaw clenched in obvious pain and anger. I turn to see Thendra looking down at me.

“Did it… Was that too much?”

A predatory grin spreads as her Jade eyes glimmer with Amwella sight.

I stare up at her for a moment, confused, then turn down to gaze at my own soul. There are still some scars, but Voe’s parts are already dissolved and restoring the horrid cracks to solid smooth Amwella.

“Oh… that’s… wow.” I shiver. Enjoy the rushing of warmth that still pulses through me way too much. “Dreamer’s Tit’s that… that was…”

I try to stand, but end up tumbling a bit. Thendra catches me, holds me upright as I steady myself. Then she turns back and looks to her Reavers, there is a long pause. As my mind continues to buzz I have to take a moment to quiet the warm euphoric thoughts at… at…

I look up, only just now noticing the long silence that sits upon the room. Every Reaver seems to be looking between us, eyes dancing with some level of Amwella sight. Most seem… contemplative. But I can recognize the hunger in others. Even Bulderii leaning against a wall in the back has her dull eyes locked on my core.

I freeze.

“Our thirteen are shattered and weakened.” Thendra purrs, looking out over her Reavers. “We need to feast, and recover what strength we can.”

I can’t help but lean away from them. No no no. Pl… please! Memories of a week of butchery and feeding chill my spine and make my heart begin to thunder in my ears. Of how… how Thendra fed me to them. How we’ve just finished a battle and… yeah my own Amwella sight confirms the ragged state of their own cores.

The Reaver’s move as one, begin to move closer. I would have stepped back, but Thendra still has my arm held. A… All of them!?! One after the other!?! N– no. No, I can't do that. NOT AFTER–

A hand, not Thendra’s, touches my hair and ruffles it, then the thrumming wave of Reaver heat is gone. I jerk up to watch as all the women move past us. Begin to kneel and crouch around the two cursed watchers. I can feel my eyes go wide and heart begin to thunder in my ears as I watch them begin to feed.

Compared to them… I was so gentle. A caress of chill wind warning of a coming storm. But the Reaver’s… they sink tooth and talon into actual flesh, growl and purr as their ravenous souls spring sharp claws along their elongated tendrils before plunging deep into the Watchers’ souls.

Voe and Zitra twist and hiss. But… It's only when my curses begin to grow agitated and active at their disobedience that they discover true pain. And I watch it all. Frozen in horror and disgust and… warmth. Steady wonderful heat bubbles and rolls through me at the sight. Blackened talons twitch and… Dreamers Tit’s It’s not until their soulfire’s are butchered and maimed things that I understand why I’m not vomiting at the sight of this.

I want to keep feeding. I enjoyed doing this horrible ugly thing. I loved feeling Voe’s Amwella tear and rip and the little slivers of her soul be consumed and ingested into my own. I... I... hate this. I don't want to watch thi–

Then there is a shout, a scream of words I don’t understand.

And one of the Reavers atop Zitra is just… their upper torso is… There is such a big searing chunk of flesh missing from her shoulder and arm amidst a lance of purple flame!

Everyone near her pulls back as one of Zitra’s little eyestalks flare up with burning purple light.

“Zitra don’t–” Voe tries to hiss.

But then all the watcher’s eyes flash open, mouth curls into a snarl of words I can’t… no. No, it's quite clear what she’s saying. Even if I can’t… can’t understand the language, the black eyes she’s locked on us all are very clear in her intent.

Burn!

I feel the magic gather, watch as her eyestalks rise around her like a mantle of power. Even begin to feel the unnatural heat begin to rise all around us–

But then my little parasite swallows the little Amwella she has left whole. And like a puppet with her strings cut, Zitra falls into a slump on the floor. She pants while her face eyes go wide. There is such an odd look to her face as she tries to understand what just happened. Why her magic has left her. Why has the horrible pain suddenly stopped, why… why does everything feel so strange?

So cold?

“Zitra!” Voe whispers, twitches in pain, goes still.

“You may open and move your weakest eye, Voe.” Thendra whispers into the sudden quiet.

One of Voe’s little eye stalks opens, twists to… to look at her fellow captive.

She… she’s already dead.

“Voe…” Zitra whispers, looking back. “I… I’m… I can’t feel…”

Black eyes turn… milky. Glazed. She reaches for fellow watcher, takes the eyestalk in her hand. But I ignore the quiet moment they share, my eyes fix on the… the parasite in Zitra’s chest. As it… it seems to wriggle and writhe and grow a little. Maw opens wide, drips fresh Amwella ichor, then bites down on the dream itself.

It begins to burrow, and then it’s... gone.

By the time I tear my eyes away from that Zitra’s body has caught up with her soul, and she’s dead. No one else seems to have even noticed my curse’s exit, they just stare at Voe. Almost vibrating with hunger at this last piece of soulfire.

Thendra carefully releases me, moves through and past her Reavers, kneels beside Voe.

“Red Moonstone.” She purrs. “You are going to feed my Reavers tonight, and if your soul survives, you may serve as mine.”

There is a long pause.

“Or… you may join your Zitra.” Thendra whispers, almost… almost kindly. “I take no pleasure in your suffering. I will command my Reavers to end you quickly and consume your soul before it fades.”

She waits, Voe’s one open eye just… stares at Zitra’s dead face. Then finally turns to look up at Thendra.

“You may speak your answer.”

Voe hesitates.

“I will serve.” Voe whispers.

Thendra purrs approval, rises, and returns to take my arm. But I can’t stop staring… not at this last watcher or hungry Reavers, but at the little rotten wound left on the dream where Zitra lies dead.